Sydney's climate and your fan
The western heat
NSW Planning expects western Sydney to see about 24 extreme heat days a year by 2050, and 4 days over 40°C. Penrith hit 48.9°C on 4 January 2020. Bedrooms are where a fan does the most on nights like those.
The coast
Observatory Hill in the city has topped out at 45.8°C, and its afternoon humidity averages 56% across the year. On sticky nights near the water, air moving across your skin is what makes a room bearable.
Western winters
Richmond averages 17 nights a year below 0°C, while the CBD has never recorded frost. If your fan has a winter direction setting, it's worth using out west to push warm air back down from the ceiling.
Alfresco areas
Southerly busters from October to the end of March bring sudden wind changes. A fan on a covered patio needs a solid fixing and an outdoor or damp-location rating from its maker.
Fans, air conditioning and an older board
A fan draws far less power than air conditioning, which matters in homes from the post-war decades. Large parts of Blacktown and the suburbs north of Mount Druitt went up in the 1960s and 1970s. If your board dates from then and already runs several air conditioners, ask the electrician to look at it while they're fitting fans.
If the house was built before 2000, NSW Fair Trading recommends a licensed electrician check whether safety switches are fitted. A fan visit is a sensible time to ask, since a fan normally runs off a lighting circuit the electrician is already working on.
Units, two-storey homes and single-storey brick
How the cable reaches the fan depends on the building. A single-storey brick home, like Haberfield's Federation houses, usually has a roof space to work from. A two-storey home, such as the brick veneer replacements around Seven Hills, has a ceiling between floors, which takes more work to get into.
In an apartment, the ceiling above you may be a concrete slab and part of common property. Check with the strata manager before booking, and tell the electrician so they arrive prepared.
Worth asking a Sydney installer
- Can this ceiling take the fan as it is, or does it need a brace?
- Is there roof space above, or is it a ceiling between floors or a slab?
- Is the lighting circuit protected by a safety switch?
- Can the fan and its light be switched separately?
- What's your NSW licence number, and will the CCEW be emailed to me?
If we were fitting fans in Sydney
Out west, we'd put fans in the bedrooms first, because that's where the hot nights hit, and use the winter setting through the frosty months. Closer to the coast, we'd add living areas and any covered outdoor spot. Either way, we'd have every fan done in one visit and the board looked at while the electrician's there.
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